Re-Blog: Bon Jovi Was HERE!!

Another re-blog….but you’ll see why! Have a great day everyone!

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Apparently some how the boys from Jersey…the guys who used to have all that hair…the band that has wowed stadiums filled with thousands of people…CAME TO MY HOUSE! I told you they were stalking me!

They came over around 1AM Wednesday night and started playing in my front yard. They brought acoustic guitars, didn’t have a piano or drum kit so they used some empty planters and rocks from my garden. The lovely old widower across the street did not take to those noisy kids “banging around” my house and called the police.

When the police arrived I tried to explain that “BON JOVI is just STALKING ME on the radio,” but all they heard over the guitars and planters was the stalking part. So they were arrested on the spot for disturbing the peace, stalking and inappropriate use of gardening materials. They tried to keep it very hush hush but I’m sure the press will catch wind of it soon.

I did manage to get autographs…they aren’t very good since they were already in handcuffs. But I’ve got my fingers crossed that I will get copies of the mug shots.

AND, to top it all off…wait for it…that’s right April Fools.

This is an April Fools joke. No offense is intended. At no point was anyone in Bon Jovi, or anyone associated with the band or the organization, at my house or annoying my neighbors. Happy April Fools Day!

Sounds That Make Summer So Special

Every week across America there are free concerts during the summer. Sometimes it’s a community band. Sometimes it’s a symphony. Sometimes it’s rock. Or country. Or reggae. No matter what the style, it’s a chance for people to get together, enjoy the summer weather and some great sounds.

Greensburg, PA at twilight

My family just spent a beautiful Friday night in Greensburg at Summer Sounds. It’s a great summer-long event that brings a wide variety of music to an amazing location for people to enjoy for free. As I sat there in the fading twilight watching kids dance, lightning bugs flash, that guy pulling his cat around in a wagon and listening to the amazing Guggenheim Grotto (seriously a great band, check them out!) I felt really blessed. Here I was enjoying a great show, in a great place, spending time with my family in a family friendly environment for free. And free is awesome for a freelancer looking for full time while trying to support a family.

Guggenheim Grotto performing in Greensburg, PA July 26, 2013.

But this is only on example. How many communities have events like this? A chance for friends to get together and enjoy music for free is an amazing gift.

Exposing kids to different kinds of music and giving them the freedom to dance and play. How awesome is that?

Dancing up a storm!

So go out and enjoy these events! Take advantage of them. I promise you the musicians love having an audience to play for. If you know of a great free concert in your community and want to share, I am all for it. The only way to make sure these kind of activities continue is by supporting them, so share your link below!

Thanks Davy Jones, Now I’m a Believer

I just heard the news that Davy Jones from the Monkees passed away earlier today from an apparent heart attack. I actually had “I’m a Believer” stuck in my head yesterday. The Monkees had one of their many big come backs when I was in high school when my friends and I discovered them. We watched the reruns. We listened to their music. I think one of my friends even got a lunchbox with them on it. Let me tell you a little story about why they hold a special place in my heart.

Image via Wikipedia

Like so many other 13 year olds it was time to get braces. And just like those other 13 year olds I was worried about how I would look and what the kids at school would say about it. It seemed to take hours to get fitted with them, and I was feeling pretty low when I got home. What I didn’t know was that my older brother had a surprise waiting for me. That may not seem all that unusual to most people, but my brother is…quiet…reserved…keeps to himself most of the time…and I was one of the few people allowed, not only into his room, but into his the things he spent hours working on his room. Some times he’d invite me in to talk about something he wrote, sometimes to show me the things he built, sometimes just to watch Star Treck: Next Generation so that he wasn’t the only sci-fi fan in the house.

When I got home that afternoon with a mouth full of metal he called me into his room and proudly played a cassette (really dating myself now). He had somehow recorded “I’m a Believer” from somewhere and played it for me. I remember just looking at him in confusion. He told me to listen to the words…”Then I saw her face/Now I’m a believer…” Then he said something about the braces didn’t change me that much. I was still pretty and he still believed in me. For whatever reason, that memory floated through my head on the way home from work yesterday. For me, “I’m a Believer” is one of those songs that floods me with feeling and memories. I guess they were still fresh in my mind when I heard about Mr. Jones’ passing because I felt myself tear up.

Thank you Davy Jones, and your fellow Monkees, for making possible a memory I will cherish all my life.

Do you have a favorite Monkee memory? Please share!

Filling the Quiet Moments

It occurred to me the other day that I was filling all my quiet moments. I listened to podcasts on my way to and from work. There were books and movies and television and the internet during my off times. Most every waking moment was filled with information and “input”. I was even listening to music or relaxing sounds as I drifted off to sleep.

I wasn’t giving myself any quiet moments. There wasn’t time to let my mind wander or relax. All the messages coming in weren’t giving me opportunity to connect with my own thoughts. While I thought I was spurring my creativity I was actually stifling it because I was giving my mind time to process and use it.

How many of us are guilty of filling our days with information and sound? Input is important, but we need the quiet time to let our minds relax.

Bon Jovi Was HERE!!

I did manage to get autographs…they aren’t very good since they were already in handcuffs. But I’ve got my fingers crossed that I will get copies of the mug shots.

AND, to top it all off…wait for it…that’s right April Fools.

Bon Jovi is After Me!

***This is actually something a wrote a while ago, but I thought it might like to live here. ***

It all started a couple of years ago when they released Lost Highway. I first noticed it in the car on the way home from work. I would hear a Bon Jovi song every night, no matter what time I left the office. It made no difference if I worked late or left early, I would hear one of the band’s songs come on usually along a two miles stretch of highway.

Pretty soon every time I got in the car a Bon Jovi song was coming on or going off. If I changed the channel – there they would be again. I started to make jokes about it to my husband and my friends. My husband thought I was nuts…until that fateful weekend when we were running errands. You guessed it, every time we turned on the car there they were…change channels and the next song on…Bon Jovi. My husband started to admit that it was a little strange.

Photo of Jon Bon Jovi from the big screen at recent concert

Jon Bon Jovi from the big screen at a recent concert

Then it moved inside. I would flip through the TV channel and there they were on Behind the Music, or on some special. There were biographies, and network news magazines interviewing Jon. Richie was going through some personal issues and it was on every channel. Even obscure movies Jon acted in were playing regularly.

It was crazy. Bon Jovi was everywhere. Even my preschooler was walking around singing “Shot Through the Heart”!

I will admit, I became slightly obsessed with them…but only because I couldn’t get away from them! I adopted a philosophy of if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em (not that I would actually join them, unless they need a former flute player). I watched the shows, my husband bought me the album. I went to YouTube and watched the videos. Jon, Richie, David and Tico began to feel like an old friends. Always there (get it….always…get it?) when I got in the car at the end of a long day.

Slowly they began to pull back. I began to think they found me less interesting. Or they were making a new album. Either way the boys from Jersey weren’t there for me (they swore those 5 words to me, didn’t they?). I faced the realization with a mixture of relief and sadness. I finally wouldn’t be hearing and seeing them 20 times a day, but they weren’t there singing to me every time I turned on the radio.

Now they are on tour with the new album, with their greatest hits and they sneaked up on me again. They’re on the radio in the morning. Jon and Richie keep popping up in a local news promo. I’m glad to see them back, but I wonder how far they will take it this time?

Where will they sneak up on me next? In the car, on TV, on Facebook or Twitter….be careful people. Runaway (get it?) Bon Jovi could be coming for you next!

***Please note, this is just meant as fun. I mean no harm to any members of Bon Jovi, their families, or anyone associated with them. ***

I Saw Bon Jovi and Fell in Love with His Monitors!

That isn’t some sort of euphemism, it’s a statement of fact. I recently saw a guilty pleasure in concert – Bon Jovi (no comments about musical taste please). We had tickets that were basically stage right which was the perfect angle to see what was happening behind the stage and check out the video monitors.

Now, I realize that most people go to a concert with the sole purpose to listen to music and see a show. I want to do that but I have a habit of getting distracted by the technology. I’ve been known to watch spotlight operators, keep tabs on the folks running show production from the floor, and scrutinize how the stage lighting/sound/monitors all work together. I have to say that while the stage and lighting were nice, these monitors were amazing! I was so enthralled with them my husband had to keep reminding me to watch the band.

Jon Bon Jovi standing on a video monitor

Jon Bon Jovi gets a lift from robotic monitors.

I am not the first person impressed. I actually saw a few articles, including this one, about these monitors. They were highlighted by the lighting and sound industries. The folks who developed the stage used the Venetian monitors developed for the previous tour and teamed them with five new monitors sitting on robotic arms that move and groove throughout the show. At one point the monitors turn into steps and stage as Jon Bon Jovi uses them to share the love with those behind the stage. The monitors light up and project as he walks across them. Combined with the larger monitors behind the stage, and the high def Venetian monitors, it’s an unbelievable sight.

If you saw my earlier post, I admit that I don’t get out much. I don’t go to every concert out there, but I’ve been to some pretty good one…Van Halen, Sir Paul McCarteny, The Police, Meatloaf, Weird Al…and others. My first concert was the Beach Boys (I was a kid, and they most definitely were not). I may not be a concert regular, but I’ve got a few reference points to use for analysis.

I think about the other concerts I’ve been to and I’m amazed at how far the technology has come. I remember back to hand-held cameras showing grainy images on much smaller screens. They were far from the clear crisp huge monitors all over the stage. Back then the screens were to help people see the stage better, they weren’t an important part of the show. That’s not to say flying monitors that doubled as a curtain and video stairs overpowered the show. They did exactly what they should do, enhance the show and increase the production values.

I’m sure that there were few people at the show as fascinated by the monitors as I was. I’m just a geek that way. To paraphrase one of my favorite geeks. It’s pretty cool living in the future.

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